Adherence
Subjective feelings of loneliness are robustly associated with poorer sleep quality (specifically subjective quality and daytime dysfunction) in young adults, independent of social isolation, psychopathology, and genetic/family confounds.
If you are feeling lonely, expect your sleep quality to suffer, specifically how rested you feel and your daytime energy, even if you get enough hours in bed. This is not just 'in your head' but a documented physiological response involving threat vigilance. Addressing the underlying social connection or cognitive perception of isolation may be more effective for sleep than standard sleep hygiene alone.
Feelings of loneliness were associated with worse overall sleep quality... Loneliness was associated specifically with subjective sleep quality and daytime dysfunction. These associations were robust to controls for covariates.
Why this rating
Large nationally representative cohort (N=2232 twins), rigorous controls for covariates, and use of monozygotic twin differences to control for genetics/shared environment.
Source
Sleeping with one eye open: loneliness and sleep quality in young adults
Timothy Matthews et al. · Psychological Medicine · 2017
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →